Sofia Grows Famous for Being Cheapest Tourist City in Europe

The Bulgarian capital has managed to retain its reputation for a cheap tourist destination. Photo by Darik news

A US daily has reminded that Sofia ranks as Europe's cheapest tourist city.

Newsday cites the BackPacker Index ranking of the PriceOfTravel online portal which lists average daily expenditure in 40 major European cities.

The survey takes into account accommodation, transportation, attraction, food and drinking costs.

In its presentation of Sofia for 2011, the online portal notes that Bulgaria's capital is growing more popular each year "due to the low prices of almost everything."

The trip advisor warns, however, that the remote location of the city may be a problem for most casual travelers.

According to calculations of the website, backpackers need around BGN 30 per day for their stay in Sofia, including BGN 14 in accommodation costs at a "cheap/good hostel", BGN 10 for meals, "not including breakfast", BGN 2 for transport and BGN 5 for extra costs.

Second place in the Backpacker Index goes to Poland's Krakow, followed by Romania's Bucharest.

The ten final entries in the ranking include cities like Vienna, Rome, Venice, Brussels and Paris.

The online portal estimates Zurich as the costliest tourist destination, noting that it "is a serious business city, so most things are geared to those with lavish expense accounts, and backpackers are barely an afterthought.

According to the Backpacker Index for 2011, a casual traveler visiting Switzerland's largest city will need around CHF 116 per day.

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